# Finding out the sex

**Should we find out the baby's sex before the birth?**

Whether to learn your baby's sex before birth, and if so when and whom you tell. It is a personal preference.

In short: Parents choose between 4 main approaches: Early blood test; 20-week scan; Find out privately, do not announce; Wait until birth. Evidence: your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide. Best settled: during pregnancy.

- Area: Pregnancy, birth and arrival
- Evidence: Your call
- Best settled: During pregnancy
- First published: 2026-10-03
- Last updated: 2026-10-05
- Page: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/topics/pregnancy-birth-and-arrival--finding-out-the-sex

## Finding out the sex: what are the options?

1. **Early blood test**: You find out from a blood test in the first trimester.
2. **20-week scan**: You find out at the mid-pregnancy ultrasound.
3. **Find out privately, do not announce**: The two of you find out but do not tell others.
4. **Wait until birth**: You wait to find out when the baby is born.

## Finding out the sex: what does the evidence say?

**Your call.** No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide.

No outcome research gathered on this yet — treat it as a preference.

## What else is worth knowing?

Some parents like to plan and bond knowing the sex; others enjoy the surprise. If the two of you differ, one can find out and keep it secret, though that is hard to sustain. It also affects what you tell family.

## Questions to ask each other

- Do we want to know, and does it change how we would prepare?
- If one of us wants to know and the other does not, how do we handle it?
- Who else would we tell, and do we want a surprise for them or for us?

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General information, not medical advice. Two parents can each answer this and compare: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/explore?cat=pregnancy-birth-and-arrival&topic=pregnancy-birth-and-arrival--finding-out-the-sex